The Tao Of Trailing by Jeff Schettler
Jeff's Final Book On Trailing! It's his best yet! An advanced book on trailing training and philosophy. If you want to get all of Jeff's works, make sure to take advantage of the 20% discount offered on the purchase of all four books!
Abstract:
The Tao of Trailing is my fourth and final book on the art of trailing or tracking human scent with a police, search and rescue, or military K9. It is my advanced manuscript on the most difficult of all working dog disciplines. Tao was written to take K9 manhunting work to the next level for handlers who hunt humans for a living with dogs. In short, it is an advanced training manual with an emphasis on the philosophy of manhunting and working with a K9 partner. Trailing is ancient, and the first written record of humans using trailing dogs was in 1307 Scotland. It has seen a huge worldwide resurgence in recent years in part due to my books. The reason for the mantrailing explosion is really because there is nothing more exciting than hunting humans with dogs!
From Jeff:
If there is one thing, one thing above all other things that I know now: trailing is an expression of life, it is as intricate and soulful as any form of music. It takes skill and conditioning as difficult as any martial art. My last book on trailing is an expression of my passion for the life of trailing and not just a manual. The machine must have a soul.
I want you to feel what I feel behind the dog hanging onto the long lead for that is the soul of which I speak. That special tautness of a twenty-year-old worn thirty footer with a hound hell bent for the hunt on the buckle end. Understand what he is going to do by the toss of the head or set of tail all while moving at a hunter’s mile feasting gait. That visceral “knowing” that your course is true and nothing your quarry does will throw you off its scent for that is true joy. The ending was sealed from the start it is simply the game that remains and in the end you will pine only for the game. When truly trailing without aforethought, there is a sublimely perfect mindset that sends all caution to the wind while pumping hunters’ blood though veins already swollen with life. I am trying to describe it but I believe it can never be really written and understood…it must be felt.
I want you to shiver at the first breath of cold air with rain on the edge of your peripheral vision while running through a place others would never tread let alone run. Get dirty with the feel loamy Mother Earth on your hands while your briar scarred trailing boots eat up the miles. Lose yourself to the hunt as your dog does for it is this abandon they truly enjoy. The prey may be the target but the passion for the hunt is the fiber of being that binds our dogs to the trail. The capture is nothing compared to the path and those who truly learn this, learn to fully live if at least in one small facet of their time here. If your goal is oneness with your dog then you must learn to love the hunt in a similar way to the dog. In so doing, you will experience life in a way you never have before and finally find that balance to be one with your four legged partner.
The Tao Of Trailing is this expression, this passion, this balance and love for the hunt that allows me to be one with the dogs I work. Finding that place of no mind but all life. If I can sum this book up in just a few words it is not “How to go” but rather "How to LET go.”
We believe that you should have shipping choices and we have integrated United Parcel Service, UPS, into our shipping platform here on Shopify. Historically, we have relied on the United States Postal Service for the bulk of our orders. However, we have received numerous complaints about poor tracking ability with USPS and delayed shipments overseas in particular. Based on our experience to date, UPS is very reliable in all levels of tracking parcels and very responsive with inquiries. This cannot be said with USPS which seems to have a very non-responsive customer service department when following up on packages and the tracking system is not up to date. That being said, USPS priority mail parcels are super fast and reliable in the continental United States. They are also the least expensive. However, when sending packages overseas, USPS reliability falls off significantly and the tracking system has proven to be less than helpful. The choice is yours and we only want to make sure that you are happy with your orders. We understand that timely delivery is part of that satisfaction process. We recommend United Parcel Service shipping for all international orders. The cost is approximately 7% more but the security and timely delivery may be worth it.